


Captive

by Podysseus394



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017), The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Hicsqueak if you squint - Freeform, The Worst Witch Remix 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:15:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24337240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Podysseus394/pseuds/Podysseus394
Summary: Captive by SecretEve95 from Hecate Hardbroom’s perspective (because I can’t believe she wouldn’t have alerts in her rooms!)Mildred Hubble successfully casts a transference spell. Unfortunately, it takes her to Miss Hardbroom’s rooms. Hecate is curious to see what Mildred will do.
Relationships: Hardbroom & Mildred Hubble, Hardbroom/Pentangle (Worst Witch)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 58
Collections: The Worst Witch Remix





	Captive

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SecretEve95](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretEve95/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Captive](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23557336) by [SecretEve95](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretEve95/pseuds/SecretEve95). 



Hecate Hardbroom was stirred to consciousness by two things. The first were the silent wards she set to alert her to any intruders or miscreant students. The second, which would have woken her even if her wards had failed, was the clumsy crack of a transference spell. She looked to the source of the intruder, just about making out the scrunched-shut eyes of - who else - Mildred Hubble.

For some unfathomable reason, she allowed her eyes to close before Mildred opened hers. Curiosity as to what the insufferable girl would do, she told herself. Her student had successfully managed a transference spell three years before she would be taught it, and was one of the most magically draining and complex spells in the codex. She wasn’t feeling a glimmer of pride, certainly not.

Hecate had to suppress a smirk when she heard the startled squeak fall from Mildred’s mouth as she realised where she had transferred to. Feigning sleep, she felt Mildred’s eyes on her, checking to see if she had been disturbed. She focused on evening her breathing; Mildred would hopefully have the good sense to leave as fast as she could, so Hecate could fall back into the sweet embrace of sleep. She only slept two nights a week, bolstering herself with Wide-Awake potions to improve her productivity, and she would be damned if Mildred Hubble meddled with her personal time as well as her professional.

However she was bitterly disappointed to find that Mildred remained rooted to the spot, either too afraid or too impertinent to run away. She felt a weight lift from her thigh, knowing that Morgana would be staring at the person responsible for the interruption of her sleep. Her familiar made no move to wake her, so clearly did not perceive Mildred as a threat. Hecate was quite surprised, as the cat was averse to the student population, hissing at and scratching anyone who got too close. Morgana was a cat as reclusive as her companion. She rarely socialised with the other staff familiars, preferring the solitude afforded to her by Hecate’s chambers. The black cat nestled her head back on Hecate’s leg, only mildly perturbed by the disruption.

Hecate felt slightly uneasy as she felt Mildred’s gaze return to her. No student had ever seen her quite so bare. Even when she was forced out of her quarters by some nighttime rule breaker, she made sure her hair was presentably arranged and put some make up on. She opened one eye ever so slightly, though not enough for Mildred to notice, and resisted the urge not to twitch her fingers, which rested on the book she had fallen asleep reading.

Mildred’s observation of her was almost clinical. She was more focused now than she had ever been in class, Hecate noted to herself. Hecate could almost hear the cogs whirring in Mildred’s head as she ran a finger along the spines of the books on her beside table. For once thankful for Mildred’s Ordinary upbringing, she knew the girl wouldn’t recognise her witching romance novels from a glance. They were her guilty pleasure; the number of hours she spent hunched over dusty, monolithic tomes for her potions research always brought on a migraine. But the novels that she usually kept tucked away in the recesses of her personal library allowed her to read mindlessly for pleasure. They required no concentration to understand the plot, and sometimes she allowed herself to dream of a future for herself like those in the books she was so fond of.

She and Pippa Pentangle were in the cautious stage of rebuilding their broken relationship after nearly thirty years of absence. They mirrored each other often, and Pippa visited Cackle’s weekly so they could play chess together. Hecate did her best not to get her hopes up that it could turn into something more. But sometimes, Pippa’s gaze would linger, and Hecate’s heart would flutter. She recalled the last time Pippa had visited, just two days before. Her cheek had burned where Pippa had kissed her goodnight, her arms tingling from being wrapped around the pink witch. But the way she had looked at Hecate as she floated off into the night was indescribably tender. It was as if Hecate was something so precious she couldn’t bear to look away from, that if she did, she would disappear. Moments like that gave Hecate hope, but she would wait until she was absolutely sure that Pippa felt the same. For now, though, she was perfectly content with friendship.

And of course, Mildred Hubble had been the one to trick them into an empty classroom to ‘talk it out’. Hecate was grateful to the girl, albeit grudgingly, but found that she didn’t mind the intrusion into her personal life as much as she’d expected. Mildred was one of the most fascinating students she had ever taught, even if she had taken twenty years off her life from her antics. Hecate knew that with the right training, Mildred could become one of the most formidable witches of her generation, and she was determined to get the girl accepted to the most prestigious witching colleges when the time came. That is, if she hadn’t died from stress by then.

Her attention was drawn back to the intruder by a rustling of paper from the side of her bed. There was no way she could find out what Mildred was reading without making it obvious that she was awake, so settled herself discontentedly. Wracking her brains to try to figure out what the insufferable girl had discovered, she realised with a sinking feeling that she had left her letter box open.

This box had been given to her by her father when she first went to school, so she could store all the letters her parents would send her. Her parents were not gift-giving people when they were alive, so Hecate particularly treasured the few things she had received from them. The ornate watch that she always wore was her most prized possession. Given to her by her mother on her thirteenth birthday, a milestone birthday for a witch, Hecate could never be parted from it. The strength of her mother’s magic hung around her neck, which she could still draw from even though her mother was long dead.

A soft click of wood confirmed that Mildred had been rummaging through her letters. She rolled her eyes behind closed lids at Mildred’s amateurism; if you were going to snoop through someone else’s personal correspondence, at least leave it the way you found it!

She felt the slight breeze of Mildred moving to the top of the bed, by her head. Hecate strained to hear what she was doing now, wishing that she would just go away.

Morgana had jumped up meowing before Hecate could even register what was happening. She sat up, looked to her right to find Mildred Hubble’s mouth agape, and her timepiece falling to the floor. It was time for this intrusion to end.

“M-Mildred Hubble!”


End file.
